updated 04:00 pm EDT, Wed August 31, 2011

iPhone 5 icon hints larger screen

Hints of the iPhone 5's real design may have come through an unusual source as a sighting in Apple's latest Photo Stream beta has shown an unusual icon. Rather than match the usual iPhone layout, it shows a device with a wide home button and considerably reduced blank spaces above and below the display, alluding to a bigger screen. The 9to5 capture nearly recalls the design of the Galaxy S II.

Although an abstraction with room for it to just be an unintended effect, Apple is known for often being fastidious about the look of device icons, even giving iOS devices and iPods their individual colors when they show in iTunes. As such, the icon may be a strong indication of significant design changes and not just the mild update to the iPhone 4 that some have indicated.

Speculation and occasional unverified leaks have had the iPhone 5 going to between a 3.7-inch and four-inch screen. It's near certain to get a dual-core A5 processor and will probably have an eight-megapixel camera as well. Less defined rumors have it getting 64GB of storage at the high end as well as a return to a metal back.